Be united to form strong force for brighter future, community told

KUALA LUMPUR: The Chinese community must work hard to uphold its rights as Malaysians, said MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

He said the community should not be haunted by pessimistic and negative sentiments, but forge ahead in full spirit and determination.

“To achieve this, the Chinese must be united to form a strong force for a brighter future,” he said at the launch of the party’s “Stronger Together” programme at Tunku Abdul Rahman University College here yesterday.

He said the programme was aimed at motivating the community to stand together and see a strong MCA, capable of speaking up for the community.

Under the programme, which is part of the MCA’s transformation plan, the party would hold discussions with Chinese guilds and associations to draw up short-, mid- and long-term road maps to help the community in various sectors including the economy, education, politics, culture, youth and women affairs.

Among the plans are to encourage more Chinese youths to participate in vocational training, get recognition for the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) and to build the Tun Tan Cheng Lock Memorial Centre to record the history and honour the contributions of the community.

Liow thanked Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for launching the event and showing his support to MCA.

He said the Prime Minister’s presence reflected his appreciation for MCA’s transformation plan.

Also present at the gathering were party veterans and leaders of Chinese guilds and associations.

Liow said the Chinese community is an integral part of the country and had been involved in nation building from as early as the 14th-century.

“This campaign is simple but carries a strong MCA message. It is a call to stand together to defend and develop the nation. We are proud to be the country’s economic contributors and wealth-generating community. We will work harder to ensure Malaysia’s continuous growth and we are prepared to face challenges to protect it from any threat.”

Liow said the party would also help to encourage the involvement of the community in 1Malaysia initiatives such as the Government Transformation Programme, Econo­mic Transformation Programme, Small Retailer Transformation Programme (TUKAR), the Auto­motive Workshop Modernisation and GLC projects.

Earlier in his speech, Liow reiterated that the party strongly objected PAS’ plan to impose hudud in Kelantan, saying that the move was contrary to the Federal Consti­tution.

“PAS has not respected the unique characteristic of Malaysia as a multi-racial and multi-religious country.

“MCA is firm in its stand in rejecting hudud because we do not want to see two different judicial systems in the country,” he said, stressing that the party was against the hudud and not Islam.

MCA is currently carrying out its transformation plan with 11 main objectives and guidelines.

They include the re-registration of membership, selection of candidates for general election, setting up of general election’s “war room”, reviving party training programmes, promoting voluntary concepts in addition to strategies and publicity initiatives to reach out to the youth.

At another event last night, Liow said the “Stronger Together” campaign was not just a slogan, but a determination to transform to ensure the success of the party’s transformation plan.

“We must transform. This is an issue we cannot avoid because we have no other choice. If we do not change, we will not be able to face the tough challenges in the next general election,” he added.